The North Point

Excellent cheeses and cured meats! Wine choices left a lot to be desired and too many tables made it crowded but cozy. A little slow on the service.Also, Wait staff seemed confused about telling newbies whether to just grab a table or wait to be seated. With  a little work, this place could be great!

The North Point - a Review in Three Parts.

I.

Dear Diary,

  Tonight we went to the North Point, a newish restaurant in mid-town Portland, located on Silver Street. The art was inspiring, cascading down the walls in contrasts of photographs and paintings, and the lighting was exceptionally tasteful, the sort of illumination that perfectly combines shadow and color, creating a mixture of mystery. The menu was a concoction of tasting plates, flatbreads, cheeses, and crepes, the wine list was extensive without being intimidating (particularly because Monday night offers full bottles at half the price), and local draft beer was listed in plain print on the front of a pint glass. We imbibed of cider and Baxter beer, liberally.

  We ordered a trifecta of cheeses: brie, a sharp, local cheddar, and au poivre. These arrived arranged in an inviting interplay with bread, jam, and fruit, and disappeared nearly as quickly, wordlessly, with only slight, pre-human utterances of pleasure and, ultimately, disappointment at their disappearance. Just as the disappointment threatened to settle into something more permanent, our salads arrived, a gorgeous Caprese, a testament to its genus, and the North Point Nicoise, the vegetation engaged in its necessary battle with salted tuna, egg, and cheese. The Caprese, in particular, was excellent, the perfect amount of a sweet balsamic with a flavor suggestive of the first salads created on the island Capri: simple, colorful, tasteful.

II.

"Wow, your stuffed flatbread looks pretty good..."
"Yours does too!"
"It's a little bit bigger than I thought it was going to be. I'm stuffed from those cheeses."
"I'm just right."
"Wow, this is really good -- you should try it. I love the way the mushroom tastes with the feta and blueberries."
"You should try this! Anything with goat cheese is amazing, especially when paired with sweet potatoes and candied walnuts."
"The bread is really crispy and thin. I think it's raining out there."
"I like that I can eat it with my hands."
"That's pretty cool! Usually I eat with my mouth. As an aside, there's no way I can touch dessert."
"I know, it's going to be hard..."
"Back to beets, I wish I had tried that beet soup before I got too full."

III.

  Forced upon us by the owner of the establishment, a plate of three small, thin crepes were placed on our table. Filled with a warm mixture of raspberry and Nutella, and pressed firmly against the porcelain, their arrival coincided with the sudden creation of "extra room" in our stomachs. One of us, carrying two x chromosomes, had suggested that we add the marshmallow option to the filling, but any regret was quickly eliminated with the first taste. (An outside observer, at this point, might suggest that the two diners -- ostensibly lovers out on a date -- began, at this very moment, that most delicate of positioning: ensuring at least half of the dessert would be theirs, and if possible, a greater portion, perhaps even two thirds of the total bounty, a delusional, insidious hope, precisely mirrored in the eyes of their dining companion.) The crepes were gone nearly as soon as they arrived. A small rain fell on the cobblestones outside, a pair of paint-splattered jeans hanging on the wall suggested something more nostalgic and necessary than even the consumption of food, and complaints, found roving in packs elsewhere in the city, were nowhere to be seen.

If there is one restaurant that can awake me from my 3 year hibernation from Yelp and whole-heartedly deserve 5 stars, it is the North Point.  I have been here 3 times for lunch in the past two months and each time I cannot resist the cheese selection!  I adore cheese and nearly fell out of my chair when I saw they served my two favorite, Wensleydale with Cranberries and my holy grail - halloumi!  The halloumi pairs very well with the sweet fig jam served along with a few crostinis and apple slices.  My only complaint is you must order a minimum of three meats and/or cheeses and some days I wish I could just have a slice of cheese with their delish Arugula and Parmesan Salad.  
I adore this restaurant with the exposed brick, the unique art work and the massive picture windows.  The tables are close together which provides a cozy and warm atmosphere.  A friend suggested their sweet potato flatbread, which I intend on ordering on my next visit in the very near future!